Over the fold, a recently screened television debate between Mark Steyn and three of the Canadian Muslims who have brought action against Macleans magazine.
Over the fold, a recently screened television debate between Mark Steyn and three of the Canadian Muslims who have brought action against Macleans magazine.
Sniffing chairs, yes, but having inappropriate dealings with a small marsupial known as a quokka is a bridge too far for West Australian Opposition Leader Troy Buswell. Read more »
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The Quilliam Foundation — a British group run by a coterie of ex-HT’ers such as Ed Husain — has an open challenge:
The Quilliam Foundation openly challenges Islamist groups to public debates. Our first challenge is to Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT), the group that influenced Syed Qutb in prison and is thus the ideological inspiration to al-Qaeda. While HT may disagree with Osama bin Laden’s methods, they both aspire to the same end: the creation of a theocratic, expansionist dictatorship. Read more »
The Australian reports today:
In the absence of halal food - prepared in accordance to sharia dietary laws - the Islamic delegates were forced to eat “salad sandwiches and vegetarian pies”.
Patri Friedman (son of David and grandson of Milton) has just launched an interesting initiative; backed by Peter Thiel, founder of Paypal, the Seasteading Institute has been founded to establish “permanent, autonomous open communities” based on private man-made structures or islands built in the ocean. Read more »
The Youth Talkfest 2020 was held in Canberra over the weekend and the communique is now available online. Amongst the ideas: paid-parental leave for all, compulsory climate change education in schools, nationalised broadband, more “humanitarian intervention” abroad, enforcement of mandatory study of a second language in schools, implement a London-style congestion tax. and cease all federal road funding that will result in increased car use (in areas where there is public transport). Read more »
An open thread where you can discuss anything you like… Read more »
Phillip Coorey has a humorous op-ed in today’s Sydney Morning Herald about Kevin Rudd’s increasing — and unrestrained — use of acronyms. Hey, I’m all for the everyday FAQ, IOU, PS, ATM and ASAP. But there is a limit to how much we should invoke acronyms, particularly in conversation. Right? Not sure? See below. Read more »
The Age reports that Australia’s Race Discrimination Commissioner wants to reverse the burden of proof in racial discrimination cases:
Race Discrimination Commissioner Tom Calma wants the burden of proof in cases of racial discrimination to fall on the alleged offender, instead of the person making the complaint.
Mr Calma said Australia’s laws made it difficult to prove there had been discrimination. Read more »
Story:
Plans for a mile-high tower in the Saudi Arabian desert have been unveiled by the billionaire owner of London’s Savoy Hotel.
At 5,250ft, the £5billion project, masterminded by two British engineering consultancies, will be twice as high as its nearest rivals, skyscrapers under construction in Dubai and Kuwait, and almost seven times as high as the Canary Wharf tower in London’s Docklands. Read more »
Marginal Revolution’s Professor Tyler Cowen explains in the New York Times: Read more »
The Canadian Islamic Congress has decided to use Canada’s hate speech legislation to go after the Canadian magazine Macleans for publishing an extract from columnist Mark Steyn’s book Read more »
The Kipp Report have an interesting story on the growing phenomena of the “halal hotel”:
Dubai-based Almulla Hospitality plans an international chain of 150 Sharia-compliant hotels by 2015. Around 90 are planned in the Middle East and North Africa, but the remainder will be Europe, Asia and North America - and Almulla says it will develop non-Muslim brand names. Read more »
ABC Radio National’s Counterpoint program have ‘selected highlights‘ from the recent debate on Islam and democracy. It’s not the entire debate but begins with Daniel Pipes making the case for the affirmative (that Islam is incompatible with democracy). Read more »
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In an inspiring and moving series of videos, one Australian talks about her long journey to the Prime Minister’s 2020 talkfest this weekend:
Vidia Naipul regards himself as the greatest living writer of the English language. Those who know him best have a different and much less flattering view. Read more »
As Dave Bath points out, if you want to make a submission to the government’s Talkfest 2020, you have until 5pm tomorrow to do so. Submissions can be made online at this site. A few bloggers have made submissions and put them online. Read more »
In contrast to the most recent proposal by the anti-discrimination commission, a more straightforward and efficient way to tackle discrimination is by using free speech and the power of choice.
The general public are overwhelmingly offended by any racial abuse and are forthright in castigating the perpetrator. Despite the view of the Muslim woman and the journalist, this clip shows how free speech and free choice are much better at treating social ills than regulating speech. Read more »
The News Limited papers are reporting today that Hizb ut-Tahrir will be launching a magazine this week.
Tanveer Ahmed, famous for saying “nooooooooo bingo” on a television game show, is teaming up with Daniel Pipes in this debate to argue that Islam is incompatible with democracy. Read more »
A while back, I was an editorial assistant on a remarkable website called The Electronic Intifada. It focuses on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, shedding light on what life is really like for those living under occupation. It’s professional, well-presented and has been around for years. The founders have worked tirelessly, attempting to restore the balance in media coverage. Read more »
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